The Legend of Perseus: The Gigantomachy
by Anaklusmos14
Summary: Pulled from their own perilous quests, a prophecy has thrown Heracles and young Perseus right into the middle of a war of immortals. Danger and death follow their every step as they try to do the impossible and defeat an enemy more powerful than the gods. Short Story from the Legend of Perseus series. On hold
1. Chapter 1

Ch. 1

"Whoa, whoa whoa." Heracles held up his hands trying to stop the situation before it progressed any further.

Perseus looked at him confused while Dionysus didn't seemed surprised by his hesitation.

"We're not going anywhere with you, _Dionyquil_ , er, whatever your name was. Not until you tell us more than that. We don't go running just because some random guy shows up, claims to be a son of Zeus, and says the gods sent him to fetch us."

Heracles sent a slightly accusing look at Perseus who had the good mind to at least be embarrassed. For all his years of skepticism at anyone he met, he had apparently let his guard drop; taking this guy at his word with no proof of anything he was telling them.

The dark haired man looked a little offended at the butchery of his name but not opposed to further proving his identity and mission.

"Why don't we make camp here for the night. We can eat, drink some wine and I will tell you everything I know."

Heracles hesitated for a minute, unsure whether he should trust this supposed son of Zeus at all. Athena had appeared to them less than a week ago and made no mention of the gods being in trouble. Surely if they needed help, she would have mentioned it in between giving them the Krotala and destroying Perseus' eardrums.

But a small part of him told him that this guy wasn't lying. Though he looked nothing like him, Heracles felt a certain kinship to him. The feeling compelled him to at least hear him out completely before making any judgments.

 _And another part of him realized that if this guy was telling the truth and they blew him off, it might end with their being blasted out of existence by a bunch of pissed off immortals._

He glanced at Perseus to make sure he didn't have any input but the son of Poseidon still seemed to be wallowing in his embarrassment from before.

"Very well. We have some Stymphalian Birds left that we can cook up." Heracles offered, ignoring Perseus' look of loathing at the thought of more birds to eat. "But I'm afraid we are a bit short on the wine."

Dionysus smiled widely at his words, "Don't worry about the wine brother, I have that covered."

Despite his reservations, Heracles couldn't help but smile himself. The thought of some strong wine to go with his excellent cooking seemed like just what he and Perseus needed.

-X-

Dionysus was a man of his word.

Heracles wasn't sure he'd ever tasted a finer wine. And from the mellowed out vibe in the group and Perseus' drooping eyes, it was certainly strong. He's almost forgot how much he liked wine. Everything seemed so much better after a few cups of the divine liquid.

"So," Heracles began, "let's hear it. What's so bad that the gods sent you to come and find us?"

This seemed to break Perseus from his daze as he sat up looking much more alert. Even Dionysus seemed to sober up at the question, something that gave Heracles a bad feeling.

"Hera has been taken."

Dionysus' words hung over the threesome heavily. No one spoke, seemingly waiting for the more information. When it didn't come, Heracles burst out laughing.

"Hera? Hahahaha! You can't be serious! You think we're going to help you aide Hera? I would rather cast myself into Tartarus before I helped her!"

Perseus had started to chuckle when Heracles started laughing but stopped when he saw the fierce look on the other demigod's face. Dionysus glared at Heracles.

"Lord Zeus, our father, has requested our help. There is far more at stake than just Hera's safety, you fool."

Heracles stopped laughing. He narrowed his eyes at his half-brother.

"So you claim. How do we know you are a child of Zeus? You don't seem too remarkable to me. In fact, you look less divine than most mortals I've met."

Dionysus jolted to his feet. Thunder cracked overhead and a bolt of lightning shot across the sky.

"Would you like to test my divinity, _brother?_ "

Perseus slowly got to his feet and stood between the two older demigods. He held his hands up in a placating manner.

"Alright, alright. Let's not start scaring the mortals with freak thunderstorms. Perhaps if you told us everything, we'd be more apt to help you," Perseus said calmly, "in whatever it is you want us to do."

Dionysus continued glaring at Heracles but slowly sat back down, taking a sip of his wine as he calmed himself down.

"I was trying to get to that part." He shot Heracles a look of distaste then turned back to Perseus. "Lord Hermes told me to find you two and lead you to Mount Olympus."

"We're going to Mount Olympus?" Heracles couldn't help but interrupt. He tried to hide his excitement but from Dionysus' eye roll, it didn't work well.

"I said I was leading you there. Hermes didn't elaborate. But if I had to guess, I would say no. Mortals do not simply _go_ to Mount Olympus."

"Have you been there?" Perseus interjected, his own curiosity peaked at the way this demigod seemed so familiar with the gods and Olympus.

Dionysus' sneer seemed to shrink as he looked at the young boy. While he already despised this Heracles guy, this other demigod seemed like a pretty nice kid. He softened a little.

"A few times, yes. I was born there, actually."

Perseus' eyes went wide. He was about to ask more when Heracles snorted derisively, "Only gods are born on Olympus," he looked at Dionysus for a moment then snorted again, "and you're no god."

Perseus ignored Heracles, who apparently decided to be a dick from here on out, for whatever reason. He looked at Dionysus with curiosity.

"You're mortal, how were you born on Olympus?"

He hadn't expected the question to anger Dionysus but the elder demigod's face darkened. He glared daggers at the ground and stayed silent for an uncomfortably long moment. When he finally looked up, he spit on the ground in the direction of Heracles.

"I did not ask to be born on Olympus. It was either that, or I would have died with my mother."

Perseus felt a pang of guilt for prying into an obviously touchy subject. Even Heracles had the good sense to frown and eye the ground at his feet.

"When my mother became pregnant with me, she knew it was Zeus who was the father. She told anyone who would listen." Dionysus took a moment to take a long drink from his cup and then ran a hand through his curly black hair. "Foolish woman," his tone didn't match his words. His voice was soft and sorrowful speaking about his mother.

"Most people thought she was a nut. But there was one woman. And elderly midwife," Dionysus' eyes darkened. Their usual blue almost look purple in the dim firelight. "She convinced my mother to ask Zeus to reveal his true form. I don't know why he thought it was a good idea but apparently he had problems saying no to my mother."

Perseus still seemed intrigued but Heracles had a pretty good idea where the story was going. Though he wasn't particularly impressed by his half-brother, the feeling of kinship he felt to the fellow child of Zeus seemed to grow as he told the story.

"When he revealed his true form, my mother was destroyed."

"What?!" Perseus didn't even mean to yell but his outrage got the better of him.

"Mortals cannot look upon a god in their true divine form." Heracles explained to him. "Hera tricked her knowing it would kill her."

"And would have killed me too," Dionysus continued, "but Zeus managed to save me and, uh," he looked suddenly very uncomfortable and awkward, "he sowed me into his thigh."

His last sentence seemed to metaphorically knock both Perseus and Heracles off their feet. It was Perseus who finally voiced the obvious question on both their minds.

"You were... born from a thigh?"

Dionysus looked torn between embarrassment and irritation.

"Yeah," he grumbled. "It was that, or die."

Perseus looked over at Heracles and then over to Dionysus before a huge grin spread across his face.

"That's like the coolest thing I've ever heard."

His glee seemed to surprise and then please Dionysus. Even Heracles allowed a smile to creep onto his face.

"That's actually pretty incredible. Not something a lot of demigods can claim, if I had to guess."

Dionysus blushed a little and eyed the dying fire, "Yeah, well, after that Zeus had Hermes bring me to the rain nymphs of Nyssa. They raised me through childhood. I saw I've been to Olympus but only briefly and have never before seen my father Zeus."

There was a brief silence before Heracles spoke.

"That's an incredible story," he paused for a second, "brother."

Dionysus looked up at Heracles with skepticism, but when he saw his sincere expression, he gave a small nod of appreciation.

"So, uh," Perseus interjected, "we never really got to the part of why we're all here together. What could the gods possibly need from us, mere mortals?"

Dionysus was about to speak when a deep and louder voice spoke from behind him.

"A prophecy. One you have wasted far too much time getting to. Time is short, demigods."

 **A.N: Intro to this short story, a side story to my series The Legend of Perseus. Sorry, had a lot going on in real life but everything is much more settled now and I'm back on the metaphorical saddle. So stay tuned, I hope to make this between 5-10 chapters at most. Let me know what you thought so far, I know its just a short intro but things will be heating up very quickly.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ch. 2**

All three demigods turned and found a young man with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes looking down at them with irritation clearly painted on his features. Dionysus was the first to react and jumped to his feet only to drop to a knee and bow to the man.

Perseus and Heracles watched Dionysus' reaction and figured the safest thing they could do was mimic his actions. They both stood and bowed respectfully to the man before them.

"My lord, Hermes," Dionysus spoke firmly but there was also a nervous edge to his tone. "I was trying to explain myself to them, I didn't mean to delay."

The man, apparently the god Hermes, rolled his eyes, "And getting drunk was a necessary part of the story?"

Rather than respond, Dionysus just kept his head down and offered no excuses to the immortal being.

"You waste valuable time you fools!" Hermes growled, glaring down at Dionysus. "As we speak, the enemy is draining Hera's power and will force her to either choose to wed him or be destroyed."

Hermes was about to continue when Heracles cleared his throat, albeit nervously.

"Uh, my lord, surely you don't need _us_ to rescue Hera."

A large staff, glowing with power, appeared in the hands of the messenger god.

"Be silent and listen, demigod."

Heracles wisely lowered his head and did not interrupt again.

"The Fates have decreed that we must have the aide of mortal demigods to defeat our enemy. Your first task is to free the queen of the gods. Rescue Hera or die trying, mortals."

Silence reigned over the group with the exception of the crackling embers of the dying fire. When Hermes didn't speak again, Perseus looked up.

"Okay, my lord. But how are we supposed to rescue Hera? We don't even know where to look."

"You must go to Pallene first. There you will find the eldest child of the earth goddess. Hera is imprisoned there and must be freed before the next moon." The god instructed.

All three demigods looked to the sky and and saw the moon was more than half illuminated.

"But my lord," Heracles said in disbelief. "That gives us less than five days to reach Pallene and free Hera."

"Indeed," Hermes nodded. "I would suggest you travel with haste. Dionysus will explain everything else to you but you have now heard the decree of Lord Zeus."

With that, the god shimmered and then vanished from his spot leaving Perseus and Heracles reeling as they tried to comprehend what they had just been told.

After a moment to make sure Hermes was indeed gone, Dionysus rose to his feet, grabbing the bottle of wine and swallowing the remains in a matter of two gulps. He tossed it to the ground at his feet and wiped his red tinted lips.

"Rescue Hera," he grumbled. "The Fates are truly cruel to force this task upon me."

"Yeah," Heracles agreed. "This isn't exactly a joy for us either. Hera has tortured me since the day I was born."

Dionysus raised an eyebrow before he began to gather up their meager belongings.

Heracles waved it off, "I wish I knew the truth behind her hatred for me, other than being a son of Zeus. But my mother told me when I was a baby, Athena tricked Hera into letting me suckle from her... But I don't even know if that's true or one of my mother's stories about her time with Zeus."

Dionysus' stopped what he was doing and turned to stare at Heracles. He wasn't sure if it had been a joke or maybe he'd heard wrong. Perseus had been told the story before but like his friend, he wasn't sure if it was true or not, though he did have a hunch.

"Suckled by Hera?" Dionysus finally asked before he smiled like the thought amused him greatly. "Athena is a crafty goddess indeed."

"Supposedly." Heracles shrugged. "I always figured it was another one of my mother's wild claims about her great love with Zeus."

Dionysus seemed to think about it a little more before a question popped into his head.

"For what purpose?"

Heracles just shrugged, signaling he was just as confused as his sibling, "To ruin my life, is my best guess."

"Or to make you more powerful." Perseus added. "You have the strength of a god. I feel like that's not something all demigods have." He looked at his own muscular but minuscule arms in comparison to the older demigod's.

Dionysus looked uncertainly at the brawny son of Zeus.

"He killed the Nemean Lion," Perseus answered the unasked question. "With his bare hands."

Dionysus opened his mouth to question the statement but Heracles grabbed up his pack and threw his bow over his shoulders.

"We should go. It's a long way to Pallene and if Hermes were to catch us in the same spot, I don't want to think about what would happen."

The reminder of Hermes' warning to move quickly was enough to stop any more questions on the subject. Dionysus grabbed his belongings and waved for Heracles to lead the way.

"Well, let's get to it. It'd be a shame if Hera were destroyed when we got there."

He feigned seriousness but he clearly was not too concerned for the goddess' well-being. He was, of course, concerned with avoiding the wrath of Hermes or, Fates forbid, his father Zeus.

 **Line Break**

As the sun began to rise of the fifth day since Hermes' warning, the trio of demigods were still on the move.

They'd _borrowed_ a few horses from a farmer a couple days earlier and with some encouragement from Perseus, they'd been able to motivate the steeds to move with a haste that shouldn't have even been possible.

They reached the peninsula of Pallene and traveled along the shores of the Aegean Sea in search of their target.

As the sun cast its first rays on the land, they knew their search was over.

Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate was to be decided later. But their destination was not exactly hard to find, an aura of death filled the land as they slowed their steeds. Though they couldn't see anything, a sensation of power hung in the air. It was like they were in the presence of a god... But different at the same time.

Something about the aura felt malicious. As their equine slowed to a cautious walk, they began looking for any sign of the goddess or her captor.

"So, should we just yell for Hera?" Perseus asked after no one else seemed to have an idea of what to do. "And shouldn't a giant be easy to find?"

"LOOK OUT!" Dionysus yelled. He jumped from his horse and tackled Perseus off of his just as a fully grown tree smashed both their steeds into bloody pulps on shores of the Aegean. Heracles had dove the other way and barely escaped the full force of the attack, instead being grazed by a few branches that opened up gashes on his exposed stomach.

As their eyes turned in the direction of the attack, all three demigods felt chill of fear run down their spines.

It had to be nearly forty feet tall. Held up by muscular, scaly, rust colored dragon legs was a creature they hardly believed could exist.

At the waist, its body changed to instead of normal human skin, it was some sort of gold or bronze color. His body was covered in bright silver armor and that was covered in jewels and gems of all different colors. More precious stones covered his skin, like weird looking warts or moles. His red hair was braided and filled with even more jewels.

An iron staff was gripped in one hand as he looked down at the small humans trying to pull themselves back to their feet.

Instead of saying anything, the giant simply began laughing. His laughter grew louder and must have been heard for miles.

"This?" He cackled. "This is what the gods send for their queen? Zeus must have grown weary and decided this was the best way to get rid of her!"

Perseus and Dionysus just stared dumbstruck. A combination of shock and awe kept their voices from returning to them. Heracles shook himself out of the stupor and took a step forward. He pulled his bow from his back and reached back for an arrow that he didn't grab just yet.

"I don't know who you are, but we've come for Queen Hera." The words actually physically tasted bad when they left his mouth but he pushed his own desires for Hera's demise from his mind. "Release her to our custody and we will leave you in peace."

The giant waited a moment, making sure he's actually heard right. Instead of responding to his demand, he started to glower at Heracles.

"You dare claim to not know my name?" He bellowed. "I will take my time destroying you for this insult! Perhaps the next demigod will know that the bane of Hades will be ending their existence!'

"Ba... Bane of Hades?" Perseus squeaked as he tried to swallow his fears.

"Alcyoneus, son of the earth mother and Tartarus and born to destroy Hades and rule the dead for eternity!"

"Give us the goddess or we'll take her by force!" Heracles yelled back at the giant.

Alcyoneus just smiled mockingly at the son of Zeus. He waved a hand and the earth beside him cracked open. From it emerged a fifteen foot tall gilded cage. In the cage, leaning with her back against the bars, was a woman that seemed more beautiful than thought possible.

Even in her weakened and disheveled state, the woman they assumed was Hera was breathtaking. Her long brown hair was braided with the feather of a peacock and only made her gorgeous brown eyes stand out more. Her perfectly sculpted face was flawless. Her dirty and tattered silver dress still seemed to shimmer and showed off a her ample cleavage and divine curves. In any other situation, the three heroes would likely have just gaped in awe at her with their tongues hanging out the sides of their mouths.

She was bound by brown, earthen restraints, the roots of a tree from what they could see. She raised her head at them and opened her mouth but no words came out before her head lolled to the side and she shut her eyes.

Thankfully, Alcyoneus was there to break them out of their dazes.

"If you want her, come and get her!"

Heracles looked to Perseus who appeared nervous but showed no signs of backing down. Then he looked at Dionysus who had drawn a bronze blade out and stood looking even more scared than Perseus. Heracles knew it would be on him to lead his comrades into battle, allow them to draw strength and bravery from his own.

"If it is a battle you want, them so be it!"

He pulled an arrow from his quiver and fired it straight into the forehead of a massive being before them. Alcyoneus made no attempt to dodge or block the arrow. He simply allowed it to strike him and imbed in his forehead.

Instead of pain or anger, the giant just smiled, showing off a set of crooked teeth that were the same golden color as his skin. He reached up and plucked the arrow out as if it were a splinter. Black ooze leaked from the small hole in his head before the skin knit itself back together leaving no evidence of the attack other than the small black smear from what could only have been his blood.

"Foolish mortals! The gods have not sent you here to fight me, they've sent you here to die!"

Before he could draw another arrow, the giant grabbed a boulder the size of a hut and hurled it at them. The demigods dove for cover, barely managing to avoid being crushed to a pulp.

"How are we supposed to fight that?" Perseus asked, his fear showing clear as day in his face.

"I'll battle the giant," Heracles ordered. "You two try to free Hera."

Before they could argue against his suicidal plan, Heracles charged at Alcyoneus, firing arrows as he ran. The giant swatted most aside, though some found their marks, piercing his golden skin and springing leaks of the black blood substance.

Perseus and Dionysus stood dumbfounded. They watched Heracles charge the giant and weren't sure what to do. Heracles had apparently thought of that and began shouting at the giant before he took off deeper inland, the enraged giant charging after him and swiping his staff like he was trying to brush away an annoying bug.

With the giant distracted, Perseus ran towards the goddess. He summoned his sword as he ran and charged straight at the cage, slamming his blade into the golden bars with every ounce of strength he could muster.

His sword clanged off the bars and Perseus was blasted back from the shockwave of his attack on the cage. He landed on his back a few feet away at the feet of Dionysus who helped him back to his feet.

"Okay," Perseus said wincing, "brute force isn't gonna work."

Dionysus managed a wry smile, "Brilliant deduction."

The sound of Perseus' attack had jolted the goddess awake and Perseus found her brown eyes glaring harshly right into his sea green ones.

"You fool," she growled, "you will never break the bars of this cage, they are reinforced by the earth goddess herself!"

"Can't you just break yourself out?" Dionysus said trying not to mock the goddess. "You are a goddess, are you not?"

If looks could kill, then Dionysus would have been reduced to ashes from Hera's sneer.

"Be silent, you worthless bastard demigod!" She spat at him. "Where are the gods? Only they would have a chance to break these bonds."

Dionysus ignored her blatant insult and stepped closer to the cage.

"There are no gods. They sent us and we're all there is. Tell us what to do or you'll never be free of this prison."

A brief look of shock and then hurt passed over the goddess' face before it contorted into sheer rage. She wrenched at the earthen bonds with everything she had but only succeeded in tiring herself out in the process.

"Lady Hera!" Perseus said imploringly. "Tell us what we have to do. The gods chose us to free you and I'm sure they wouldn't have sent just us if they didn't think we could do it."

Hera's gaze turned to the son of Poseidon. It was far from friendly but it was slightly less venomous than they one she'd sent at her husband's demigod son. She gave him an appraising look, as if she were weighing whether there was even a point in responding to this mere mortal. Apparently, she decided it was worth a shot and slumped back against the bars of her cage.

"If you can destroy that monstrosity, the cage will be weak enough for me to free myself with your help."

Perseus had feared that was the answer.

 _Sure, destroy the forty foot giant, no problem..._

He straightened himself up and his sword vanished, his bow appearing in its place. He looked beyond the cage where Alcyoneus was laughing and swiping his staff back and forth, sending chunks of earth and forest flying at he appeared to be enjoying the game of cat and mouse he and Heracles were playing.

"Okay my lady," Perseus said trying to gather up his courage. "We will destroy this monster or die trying."

Hera rolled her eyes at his attempt at chivalry, "You cannot defeat him, demigod. He simply cannot be killed."

Perseus looked at the goddess, unsure what to say to that statement.

"Then we should leave and save ourselves?" Dionysus asked, sounding rather pleased at the idea of the leaving Hera where she was.

Hera ignored him and kept her eyes on Perseus, "This giant has a special ability. In the place of his birth, he is immortal, unable to be killed by either a mortal or immortal. This is his birthplace, he cannot die while standing on this ground."

Perseus gripped his bow tightly as he tried to think of what to do. He looked at Dionysus who was too busy staring at the goddess with hatred to be helpful.

"Then we will lure him away."

Hera sighed, sounding annoyed that she had to use her voice to explain the faults with that plan.

"He is dumb but he is not dumb enough to willingly leave this place. We are all doomed."

Perseus reached into his quiver and fired two arrows at once. They flew over the cage and both hit the giant in the back of the neck as he prepared to make another swipe at Heracles. Alcyoneus straightened and roared in a mixture of surprise and pain at the unexpected blow.

"If he won't go willingly, then we will drag him from this place. Lord Zeus has given us this task and we will not fail."

Hera's face went blank for a minute as she looked at the young demigod. If he didn't know better, she almost looked impressed, even grateful, for his words.

"Prove yourself, young Perseus. Perhaps I was mistaken about you. Free me before it is too late! My power is being drained as we speak. I only have until sunset before I will be given the final choice of marrying that giant's vile brother or be destroyed."

Perseus didn't answer the goddess. Instead, he ran straight past the cage and towards the giant still trying to flatten Heracles. Dionysus didn't seem eager but after one final glare, he followed his young friend as they ran into what he knew was their inevitable and likely excruciating deaths.

 **A.N: Wanted to get back to this short story for a bit. More to come on this and Destinies. Let me know what you thought.**


	3. Chapter 3

Ch. 3

A plan?

In retrospect, a plan would have been nice.

But plans are for people who have time to sit and think about a problem. A chance to look at it from several angles and choose the best course of action.

Perseus... Well, he wasn't really a _plan_ kind of guy.

It's not that he wasn't smart. In fact, for his age, he thought he was pretty sharp, mostly thanks to the life experiences he'd been forced to endure since being gifted with the knowledge of his partial divinity.

But one of the many joys of being a half god meant he had the pleasure of risking his life to help the so-called ultra powerful Olympians. Well, sometimes to help... Other times, in fact most of the time, he was pretty sure it was for their amusement. But this time, this time he got the joyous privilege of running straight towards a forty foot immortal giant for the sake of a goddess he was pretty sure would blast him to dust if she thought no one would notice.

 _Right?! What an honor!_

He had to push his sarcastic monologue out of his mind because he was running out of space between him and his likely cause of death.

With no plan coming to mind, he went with what Heracles had taught him to do in impossible situations.

He pulled an arrow from his quiver and fired it straight at the giant's head.

In Heracles' defense, it usually had a pretty decent success rate.

Sadly, his arrow wasn't much more than a bee sting to the hulking form of Alcyoneus. The first hit one of his weird jewel moles and bounced off harmlessly. He didn't even seem to notice.

Perseus' eyes narrowed as he thought about bee stings.

He stopped running and pulled another arrow. He took aim this time, waiting as the giant shuffled around still trying to squash the surprisingly nimble Heracles.

"Wait for it..." Perseus whispered to himself. Dionysus had stopped beside him and looked unsure if the younger boy was talking to him.

Suddenly Perseus loosed the arrow.

"ARGGGHHHHHHH!" Alcyoneus roared as the arrow hit about a third of the way down his ear canal.

The giant dropped his staff and brought both hands to his left ear as he howled in pain and tried to pluck the painful arrow out. He didn't manage to get it out but seemed to get over the painful annoyance enough to turn,his eyes landing on Perseus who stood grinning with his bow still in hand. When the giant's eyes found him, his smile vanished and his moment of triumph was ruined by the realization he was about to die.

"BOY!" Alcyoneus bellowed. "YOU'RE DEATH WILL BE EXTRA SLOOOOOAHHHHHHHHH!

He nearly doubled over as his hand went up to his right ear. Perseus looked and found Heracles, bruised and battered from nearly being crushed dozens of times, grinning with pride at him as he clearly approved of the tactic.

"I WILL DESTROY YOU MORTALS!" Alcyoneus screamed. He ran straight at Perseus and Dionysus, his huge strides closing the distance in seconds as they both darted in opposite directions. Alcyoneus went after Perseus, clearly still a little miffed about the first arrow in the ear. Though his strides were enormous and he could cover distance much quicker, Perseus had agility the giant couldn't couldn't come close to matching. His small and muscular frame was built for speed and he knew it. He was yards away each time a huge dragon foot would stomp down on the earth trying to crush him.

Heracles kept firing, aiming for vulnerable area on the giant. Alcyoneus swatted aside arrows that were aimed for him eyes but one did fly into his open mouth, causing the giant to halt his pursuit and break into a coughing fit as he tried to dislodge the painful intrusion.

Perseus used the distraction to run to Heracles.

"We need to get him out of here!"

Heracles didn't look at him. He had an arrow notched, waiting. He fired and it went straight into the giant's open mouth yet again.

 _Apparently Alcyoneus was a slow learner._

"What?"

"He can't die when we're in the place of his birth!" Unless we lure him out of here, no matter what we do, we cannot kill him."

They were crouched behind a bush, trying to stay out of sight as Heracles peered over to find the giant stomping around, hoping to get lucky as crush them into pulps.

"How are we supposed to get that thing to go anywhere he doesn't want to go?"

Though the question was posed to Perseus, Heracles didn't really expect him to have an answer.

"The sea!" Perseus exclaimed excitedly. "If we can get him into the water, maybe that will work!"

Heracles didn't look overly optimistic about the idea. He has doubts about whether it would work and that was obviously ignoring the very real problem out how they were going to get this monstrous being into the water to begin with.

They ran out of time to contemplate Perseus' idea as they heard Dionysus cry out. They both jumped from their little hiding spot and found the other demigod on the ground with the forty foot giant standing over him in triumph.

Words didn't need to be spoken. They'd been in enough sticky situations together to know what to do.

Heracles pulled three arrows from him quiver, notching them and drawing back the string. Alcyoneus raised a foot to crush their wounded companion. From the corner of his eye, Heracles could see Perseus moving at a full sprint towards the giant.

Heracles fired.

The arrows flew straight at the back of the giant's scaly dragon leg. One clanged off a scale and bounced away but the other two found a crease in the thick skin and sunk into the giant's flesh.

Alcyoneus let out a roar of pain and Dionysus used the distraction to roll away, barely avoiding the enormous foot.

Perseus ran up and used a rock to launch himself into the air before the giant could even turn around. His bow had morphed into a sword in mid air and he drove it to the hilt into the giant's lower back.

Alcyoneus went rigid and spun around, unaware Perseus was still hanging from his sword hilt on his back. The young son of Poseidon used the momentum of the giant turning to fling himself to the ground near Dionysus.

Heracles fired more arrows and drew the attention and the wrath of the Alcyoneus as Perseus dragged Dionysus to his feet, leading him away from the giant.

"My friend," Dionysus said wincing as he put a small amount of weight on his injured leg. "We need to retreat. The gods ask the impossible. We can't win."

Perseus led him behind a large boulder as helped him sit down.

"You're too injured to flee anyway. I have faith the gods wouldn't have sent us if we cannot win." Perseus' hand went to his necklace, finding the small trident had returned and summoning his bow again. "You stay out of sight. We'll take care of the giant."

Dionysus looked saddened by his words, "Don't be a fool. Leave me and this place, while you can."

Perseus paused for a just a second as doubts crept into his mind before his face hardened and he took off, leaving Dionysus and sprinting back towards the battle.

As he left the elder son of Zeus behind, he ran back towards the giant and saw Heracles had apparently decided his idea had some merit. He stood under the cover of a tree, firing an arrow at the giant before he ran back, in the direction of the beach.

Perseus ran in that direction. Once closer, he fired his own arrows, a few finding their marks and sinking into the giant's flesh.

Just as he saw the beach coming into view, Alcyoneus stopped. He held out his hand and his staff shot from the earth.

"ENOUGH GAMES!" He roared. He bled from dozens of small arrow wounds but they were already beginning to heal as he glared at the two demigods. The giant looked towards the sky and saw the sun was descending before he grinned.

"A VALIANT EFFORT LITTLE MORTALS! BUT YOU ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME AND I CANNOT BE DESTROYED. I HAVE TOYED WITH YOU LONG ENOUGH! ITS TIME FOR YOU TO JOIN MY RANKS AND SERVE ME FOR ETERNITY!"

Neither knew what he was talking about. Though he was right that they were running out of time and couldn't kill him, he was delusional if he thought they would join him.

Alcyoneus drove his spear into the earth and a crack spread between him and the two demigods. Before they could react, hands began clawing their way out of the earth. Dozens of corpses rose from the crevice, all dressed in the armor of a greek soldier. They held swords, spears and shields and formed up ranks between the giant and the two demigods.

Their decayed and emaciated forms were horrifying enough without the coarse laughter of Alcyoneus cackling at their looks of shock.

"I AM THE BANE OF HADES AND WHEN HE IS DESTROYED, ALL THE DEAD WILL BE MY MINIONS! YOUR BRETHREN HERE ARE JUST THE FIRST OF MANY!"

Perseus and Heracles exchanged looks. This was not the best time for a small army of undead to stand between them and the giant as the sun continued to move towards the horizon.

"DESTROY THESE DEMIGODS! THEY WILL MAKE FINE ADDITIONS TO YOUR RANKS."

The dead soldiers formed tight lines and began to march towards Perseus and Heracles.

"Draw them to the beach," Heracles said under his breath. "I will make sure the giant follows as well."

Perseus didn't acknowledge his words but his bow did vanish and was replaced by a gleaming bronze blade.

When the undead were less than ten feet away, Perseus steeled his nerves and let out a battle cry and charged.

Why he opted for a sword instead of his bow wasn't even clear to him but something about fighting with a sword felt good. His adrenaline was kicked up an extra notch and it helped focus his mind on the two important tasks for killing and not being killed.

He reached the line of dead Greeks and his instincts and years of training with Heracles took over. He drew the spear of the first low with a feint and spun around in a three sixty, lopping off the slow enemy's head in one vicious blow.

He turned, deflected a sword and kicked with everything he had, sending the next flying into a trio of others and causing the left side of their line to erupt into chaos as they struggled and flailed to untangle themselves.

He took a few steps back, drawing the others towards him as he fended off attacks, staying defensive and choosing his moments to attacks. He cut several down as he was pushed back but the fallen Greeks kept coming.

He could feel the ground beneath his feet begin to change, a mixture of earth and sand and knew he was close. He couldn't spare a glance to find Heracles, forced to keep his focus on the swords and spears coming at him nonstop.

One of the dead Greek's lunged forward and Perseus was late to deflect the strike. It glanced off his shoulder and opened up a deep gash that stained his shirt red.

He grabbed the spear and pulled hard, the corpse's arm came right out of its socket with a sickening schlitchh sound. Perseus looked at the decayed limb in his grasp in shock.

"Ugh, gross." He tossed the disgusting appendage away and stepped forward and lopped the soldier's head off with one deadly slice of his blade.

Before he could turn his attention to the next, he saw Heracles flying through the air by him. The son of Zeus crashed into the sand and struggled to get back to his feet.

Alcyoneus stomped up from behind his dead minions and crushed the final few under his feet as he stood at the edge of beach, a smug smile on his ugly face as he watched Heracles, bloody and bruised, try to get up.

"TIME TO DIE, HALF BLOODS!"

He stepped forward and Perseus raised his sword. Rather than attack, he drove it into the sand down to the hilt.

"VERY WISE, LITTLE MORTAL. I WILL MAKE YOUR DEATH A QUICK ONE!"

As the giant raised his huge dragon foot up to crush him, a small tremor shook the ground and caused him to stumble forward. Before he could recover, two massive arms rose from the sea. They were made of churning sea water and surged forward, grabbing Alcyoneus by his big ankles and yanking his feet right out from under him.

"AGHHHH! WHAT IS THIS?!" He roared in outrage but the oceanic arms just pulled, dragging him across the sand as he clawed at the earth, desperately trying to keep himself from the water.

Perseus dove aside as the giant was pulled right past him and into the sea.

Perseus jumped to his feet and ran after the giant. Heracles saw him coming and moved in front of him and dropped into a crouch with his hands cupped in front of him. Perseus jumped, his feet landing in Heracles' waiting hands before the son of Zeus used all his strength and Perseus' momentum to launch him into the air towards the sea.

Perseus flew high, nearly twenty feet up with his sword gripped tightly in his hands. He came down roughly on the writhing chest of Alcyoneus as he struggled to break free of his watery restraints. When Perseus landed hard on his chest, he froze, a look of realization and then terror covering his face.

"BOY!"

Perseus didn't give him a chance to finish. He drove the blade as hard as he could into the giant's flesh as Alcyoneus roared in pain. Within seconds, the giant's form began to melt until Perseus dropped into the water, which was now a black oily mess. He struggled to swim in the thick waters and began to sink.

Then a current rose from beneath him and pushed him back to the surface. It propelled him back to the shore where he washed up, covered in the oily filth of Alcyoneus' remains, at Heracles feet.

Rather than help him up, Heracles lowered to a knee in a bow.

Perseus rolled over and tried to wipe some of the oil from his face. When he opened his eyes, he found a familiar but still intimidating figure standing over him.

"Father," he started to bow but Poseidon raised a hand to stop him.

"No, my son. There is no need to bow. You have done well. You have brought great pride to my name and that of Olympus."

Perseus opened his mouth to say something but the god wasn't done speaking.

"We will meet again soon. For now, you must hurry; Hera's is running out of time."

Perseus looked up and felt a surge of panic run through him when he saw only a sliver of the sun still visible in the western sky. He looked back to his father only to find he was gone.

Deciding to think about his father's words later, he turned to Heracles.

"Let's go, we've only got minutes."

Heracles paused for a moment as if he wanted to protest and then sighed, "Fine, perhaps this will be enough to get the goddess to let me be for the rest of my life."

The two demigods sprinted back into the trees and didn't stop until they were at Hera's cage. The sight inside was not what they expected.

Hera was unmoving. Her body looked like it'd aged a hundred years since they'd seen her only hours before. Perseus tried to kicked the bars in but his foot just bounced off painfully. He looked at Heracles who still looked unsure whether he really wanted to do this.

"Hurry up!" Perseus said frantically.

Heracles rolled his eyes but then looked around until he found a large piece of wood that was the perfect size for a club. He picked it up and approached the cage.

"For Zeus," he muttered and swung with everything he had. The bars of the cage gave like they were made of paper and the rest of the cage crumbled to dust in seconds.

Hera gasped loudly and her chest rose up as tendrils of light surged from the earth and were drawn into her body. Her body hovered in the air as the bright lights flowed into her body until there was a brilliant flash. Both demigods turned away and when they looked back, Hera stood before them looking more beautiful and radiant than ever.

Her eyes opened, glowing with power as they landed on Perseus first and then Heracles.

Her lips pursed but she seemed to stop herself from saying what she truly wanted.

"Cutting it a little close, aren't we?"

Heracles grit his teeth but dropped to a knee nonetheless. Perseus followed suit as he bowed his oil covered head to the goddess.

"He was a difficult adversary, my lady." Perseus said quietly.

Hera sneered at Heracles but softened just a bit when her eyes moved to Perseus.

"Yes, well, I supposed better late than never."

Neither demigod responded to her less than grateful comment.

Hera just waved her hand, "For your service on this day, I will not obliterate either of you." She shot a look a Heracles, "No matter how much I would like to."

"Thank you," Perseus answered quickly before Heracles could speak, "my lady."

"Make haste young heroes, for your work has only just begun."

With that cryptic warning, the goddess shimmered and then vanished from where she stood. Heracles climbed back to his feet and kicked earth at the spot the goddess had stood.

"Yeah, you're welcome."

Perseus ran a hand through his oil slekened hair, "Let's go get Dionysus. I'm sure he knows where we need to go next."

Heracles glared at the spot Hera had been a minute longer then sighed and walked off to find their fallen companion.

 **A.N: Another chapter... Would love to know what you thought. As I've mentioned, this is a short story so the action will really start picking up soon as we head for the final battle versus the giants.**


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